Since 1966, the attraction now known as the Coit Museum of Pharmacy & Health Sciences in the Skaggs Pharmaceutical Sciences Center at the R. Ken Coit College of Pharmacy has featured one of the largest collections of pharmaceutical artifacts in the country. It outgrew its original facility over the years, but thanks to a portion of the $50 million gift from alumnus R. Ken Coit in 2021, a dedicated space for the museum was created and additional exhibits were developed.
Upgrades to the museum included:
- A recreation of an old-time drug store with period-appropriate displays and pharmaceutical artifacts.
- Pharmacy’s history told through the Great Moments in Pharmacy exhibit, a 2021 Telly Awards Silver Winner production featuring 40 digitized and animated paintings.
- A new exhibit for the UpJohn Pharmacy Collection from Disneyland.
- A hands-on opportunity to create “snake oil” labels for medicine bottles to display at home.
- A life-size bronze statue of Coit. The making of the statue, which is 9 feet tall and weighs 800 pounds, was documented by award-winning film maker Doug Reid, who has worked with Coit for many years and played a major role in the design and creation of the new museum space.
Coit committed the funding through his family foundation to solidify the university’s place as a leader in pharmaceutical education, research and innovation. The gift established six endowed chairs in drug discovery, neurodegenerative diseases and toxicology, as well as an endowment to support scholarships for the college’s doctoral programs.
The gift will also be used to fund strategic investments in the form of research equipment and facility upgrades, and some of the funds were used for an expanded wing of the college’s museum. The grand opening was held in October 2022.
“It is my goal to see the University of Arizona College of Pharmacy take its place among the top three programs in the nation,” Coit said in 2021. “With this gift, the college can recruit the best and brightest students and faculty, who will go on to change the face of health care around the world.”
The college is one of the premier pharmacy schools in the nation and is ranked No. 5 by the American Associations of the College of Pharmacy’s list of colleges with the most National Institutes of Health grant funding.
Coit, who is a member of the college’s national advisory board, has been a steadfast supporter of the college for nearly 50 years. He and his family previously founded the R. Ken Coit Endowed Chair to reward excellence in teaching, and he committed $2 million to the Skaggs Challenge in 2016. The challenge helped the college achieve its fundraising goal for the expansion and renovation of the Skaggs Pharmaceutical Sciences Center, completed in February 2020. Over the past 49 years and including this new gift, Coit has donated and pledged more than $68 million to support pharmacy education at the university.
“Ken has been an incredible partner to the University of Arizona, and I am truly appreciative of his transformative generosity,” University of Arizona President Robert C. Robbins, MD, said when Coit announced his gift. “The College of Pharmacy has been at the forefront of drug discovery research and pharmaceutical education since its inception more than 70 years ago. Through Ken’s inspirational gift, the college will have the resources to continue leading the way on these fronts.”
“Ken’s remarkable commitment builds upon a legacy of support that is empowering the College of Pharmacy to achieve remarkable results in improving human health and potential in Arizona, across the country and around the world,” said Michael D. Dake, MD, senior vice president for the University of Arizona Health Sciences.
Coit has the kind of pioneering vision that perfectly encapsulates the Wildcat spirit, added John-Paul Roczniak, president and CEO of the University of Arizona Foundation.
“His generous support has advanced not only the College of Pharmacy, but the entire University of Arizona in its capacity to serve others both near and far,” Roczniak said.
Coit graduated from the College of Pharmacy with a bachelor’s degree in pharmacy in 1967. He practiced pharmacy for three years before beginning a career in investing and financial planning. Though he didn’t spend a lot of time working in the pharmacy industry, he credits his professors with instilling in him the values that made him successful.
“I may not be a pharmacist now, but I learned a lot in pharmacy school that’s still important to me,” he said. “My professors demonstrated high ethical standards and integrity and taught me how to take care of patients. They really instilled that we were there to take care of others. I kept and transferred that value when I changed to investing.”
“Ken’s leadership and philanthropic investments ensure our college will continue to grow, recruit and support the best students and faculty – attracting top people from around the world to make advances in pharmacy practice and pharmaceutical sciences,” said Rick G. Schnellmann, PhD, dean of the Coit College of Pharmacy.
